Lasagna!

Ingredients:

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup minced onion

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes

2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste

2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons white sugar

3 teaspoons dried basil leaves

2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 tablespoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

12 lasagna noodles

16 ounces ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

3. To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.

4, Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.

You will have extra sauce left over to serve with pasta another day :) Mmmm.....

DIY Tortilla Chips!

So, I had 2 avocados ready to be made into delicious guacamole BUT I had NO chips! However, I did have corn tortillas....Hmmmmm....Here's how they became my crispy vessel for tasty guac:)

Ingredients:

Corn Tortillas

Vegetable Oil

Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly brush each side of the corn tortilla with vegetable oil. Then stack them on top of each other and cut them into 6 pieces. Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Place them in the oven for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, take them out, flip them over, then put back in the oven for 3 & 1/2 minutes.

Why spend $2-$3 for one bag of chips, when you can buy 72 corn tortillas for the same price and make endless amounts of fresh chips for the whole family???

Brazilian Black Bean Stew

• Ingredients:
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 (1 pound) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 (16 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 mango - peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Place the onion in the pot, and cook until tender. Stir in garlic, and cook until tender, then mix in the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, tomatoes with juice, cumin, chilpowder and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes, until sweet potatoes are tender.
2. Stir the beans into the pot, and cook uncovered until heated through. Mix in the mango and cilantro, and season with salt.

Serve with cheese quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, or on a bed of rice.

Vanilla Pear Pancakes

I am on a pancake kick here! They are my favorite breakfast. These pancakes are made with no flour and are super easy...

Ingredients:

2 medium sized pears

2 tsp white sugar (or 1 packet of Splenda)

2 tsp brown sugar (or 1 packet of Splenda)

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup vanilla yogurt (fat-free or low fat are fine)

4 egg whites

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of salt

Cube pears in 1-inch pieces and place in microwaveable bowl. Sprinkle with sugars and cook in microwave on high for 1 min 30 sec.

Then put the pears and all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Use a 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook on medium in skillet for at least 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with sliced bananas and drizzled with honey or pure maple syrup!

*Right off the skillet, pancakes will be runny, but if you let them sit for 5 minutes before serving, they will stiffen up.

Yummy Yummy Beef Stew

It finally feels like fall is here, and with it some yummy beef stew that takes 2 hours to make, with the same taste as one that spent 8 hours in a slow cooker. YEY!

Beef Vegetable Stew

serves 6

Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil
1 1/3 pound of stew beef
4 cups beef broth (1 large box)
12-15 peppercorns, ground
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves, ground
2 cups water
1 rutabaga, diced
10-15 small new potatoes, quartered
4 carrots, cut into 1/4" slices
3 tbsp flour or cornstarch, mixed with 3 tbsp warm water
1 leek, quartered and sliced into 1/4" pieces (use only white/light green parts, the dark parts are dry and bitter)
1 cup frozen sweet peas

Directions

1. Heat oil in medium dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Stir-fry beef until brown. Add broth, water, and spices. Bring to boil, then lower heat. Let simmer for 1 1/2 hours (ready when meat is tender).

2. Add rutabaga, carrots, potatoes, and flour paste. Let simmer 25 minutes, then add leeks and peas. Let simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until peas are heated through. Serve hot with a rustic bread.